A beginner in the chemical industry – what lies ahead?
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Dear friends and experts, I have a background in linguistics; I have been working as a translator at an overseas chemical plant in the energy and chemicals industry for several years now. I am familiar with the company’s overall culture, but my knowledge of various specialties is only superficial. Recently, I had the opportunity to be transferred to the site for work during a major maintenance period at my workplace. I thought it was a great chance to focus on a specific area of specialization. However, there are many different specialties available, and I’m not sure which one offers better prospects – instrumentation, mechanics, automation, or something else. I would be very grateful if any experienced colleagues could give me some advice! ! ! !
Word, days—switching from learning languages to studying chemistry, from a humanities background to an engineering one. Amazing. . . .
First do the process translation, then do the instrument control translation
First, don’t you like this translation job? Or are you not satisfied with the salary for this job? You need to explain your thoughts so that I can give you advice. A career change of this scale could potentially ruin one’s life. If you just want to learn more things without interfering with your translation work, then there’s no problem; in that case, don’t be picky and learn various things on the job, so that you have some knowledge in different areas. It may not be in-depth, but it will give you a broader understanding, which is still beneficial for your translation work. If you really don’t want to continue working as a translator and want to change careers, then you really need to think it through carefully. You could start by working in manufacturing processes and gradually move towards electrical or instrumentation fields – that would be a better approach
Thank you, I don’t want to be a translator anymore; having a specific field of specialization will open up more opportunities for me. I don’t have much experience with manufacturing processes at the moment; my work mainly involves carrying out inspections and repairs on site. If that’s the case, how can I get started and learn effectively?
My work experience has been quite varied; I used to work on construction sites as well, but my role was mainly that of a translator or doing various chores, and what I learned was only superficial. Learning a language holds great prospects; having a specialized focus will make things better if combined with the language itself
It depends on how much free time you have on site. If you have plenty of time, you can spend every day with the process engineers, which will help you learn more quickly. If you’re only there occasionally, it will be harder. Although you can learn things through maintenance work, more comprehensive and detailed knowledge requires in-depth study. In such a case, you might need to change careers or quit your job as a translator in order to apply for positions in process engineering or other fields that interest you. But changing careers often means facing difficulties for three years, so you need to be very careful